KIMI ANTONELLI won the United States Grand Prix – but missed out on being crowned world champion by a whisker.

The 20-year-old Italian will have to wait until the Mexico Grand Prix to win his first ever world title and break the record as the youngest ever F1 champion.

Charles Leclerc came second while Max Verstappen finished on the final podium spot.

Going into the race, Antonelli had a 102-point lead over Russell and needed to be 125 points in front after this race.

To take the title he had to win with his teammate finishing outside the top eight, and Lewis Hamilton outside the top four.

Hamilton ended up finishing in fourth as Russell clung on to his title hopes for dear life by he coming eighth.

Antonelli shot off the line with a superb start while Charles Leclerc went storming past Max Verstappen into the high-speed chicane for second.

It was a great start all round for Ferrari as Hamilton got the jump on Isack Hadjar.

Antonelli was already 2.3 seconds clear by the end of the first lap as Leclerc and Verstappen squabbled behind him.

The Virtual Safety Car was briefly called into action on lap two to allow the marshalls to clear some debris on track.

Things went south for Russell on lap nine as he was slapped with a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage on Oscar Piastri on the opening lap.

Prior to the decision, Russell, who was running in sixth, said on the radio “I was on the inside, he was overtaking on the outside, that’s his risk”.

Verstappen came into the pits on lap 14 and triggered a flurry of stops from Hamilton, Norris and Leclerc.

Mercedes were playing poker and both of their drivers stayed out as Peter Bonnington told Antonelli to “go as long as he can”.

The 20-year-old eventually pitted on lap 24 and reemerged in fourth, just ahead of Hamilton.

Verstappen who was leading began struggling around half-way through as Leclerc was snapping at his heels before pitting again.

Antonelli charged back into the lead, beyond Leclerc down to Turn 12 on lap 32.

Antonelli had claimed pole position for the US Grand Prix with a hugely impressive lap for Merc at the Circuit of the Americas.

In beating Red Bull’s Max Verstappen into second place, Antonelli did exactly what was required to give him the chance to close out his first world championship title this weekend.

It still feels like a matter of when not if Antonelli will become world champion, and he deserves every bit of it.

His mental strength has been second to none, like when he suffered a huge crash in FP3 in Melbourne in the season opener but blocked it out to finish the race second.

His legendary status was cemented with his jaw-dropping victory from 19th on the grid at the Italian Grand Prix in September.

It made him the first Italian winner of that race since 1966 and showed just why Antonelli deserves to be crowned the nation’s first world champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

And the world of F1 knew the sport had another Hamilton or Verstappen on its hands, with Antonelli looking like he will dominate in years to come.

In his rookie campaign, there were glimpses of the Italian’s potential, but an error-filled European leg suggested he may still have been a few years off.

But he has been utterly dominant this season, winning nine out of 18 races so far this year.

Hamilton, whose seat Antonelli took after the Brit moved to Ferrari last year, has watched him develop since he was age 11 and part of the Mercedes young driver programme.

The 41-year-old has already given his blessing this weekend and said that Antonelli “deserves to be champion”.

And it looks as though Antonelli will follow in Hamilton’s footsteps in Mexico City.